Northern Telecom Ltd has been appointed prime contractor for the design and installation of the UK National Grid Co’s Energis telecommunications network: Energis will base its network on NT DMS-100 public switching system and will use the earth wires of the existing overhead power lines as the basis for its fibre optic network; the fibre optic cable will be wrapped around the earth wires to provide what is claimed to be the UK’s first all synchronous telecommunications network; the first switching centres are to be be installed this year in Monk Fryston, near Leeds and in Southwark in South London; the network is expected to be installed by spring 1994, when it will reach 70% of the UK’s population; Energis and the Canadian company are to work as a team on implementation of the project.
